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[NathanOfCydonia]

http://www.n-europe.com/news.php?nid=12000

Plattchen has seen a slight delay, and it'll now release in the third week in July in both the US and Europe.

 

[MadFuzzy]

Both My Pokemon Ranch and Pop are now up in Europe.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

Both My Pokemon Ranch and Pop are now up in Europe.

...and the new DLC for My Life As a King has gone live:

Infinity Spire dungeon
New building - Library
Castle renovation - adds jukebox/adventurer naming
New costumes for Chime and the King

I'm not 100% sure, but it also seems that the patch you're prompted to download when using the DLC store has added the progressive scan support that was supposed to have been in the last Japanese update. Can anyone confirm?

 

[Fantastical]

SPOGS Racing - 1,000 Wii Points

SPOGS Racing™ (D2C Games™, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Cartoon Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Coming at you full throttle is SPOGS Racing, an all-new racer from D2C Games featuring classic arcade racing, pick-up-and-play controls, all-new racing vehicles and Crash N’ Grab™ instant upgrades. Jump in, gear up and modify your ride on the fly as you compete head-to-head for a totally outrageous arcade racing experience on your Wii console. Whether you’re a casual gamer or hardcore racer, SPOGS Racing features fun for all and is a must-have download for your WiiWare digital game library.

 

[dyls]

wow, magnetica is really fun. My gf and I had a blast playing it last night!

Yeah it is. The co-op stuff is particularly fun; I only wish there was more of it. I'm surprised at any complaints about the controls, as I find them to be spot on.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

SPOGS = POGs in a wheel? Well, I guess that's one way to not have to model different racers.

 

[The Main Event]

So uhmmm, any SPOGS impressions? :lol

 

[Slacker]

So uhmmm, any SPOGS impressions? :lol

I watched the video on the Nintendo Channel. I will not be making a purchase.

 

[Fantastical]

Yeah, SPOGS doesn't look very impressive, plus their is no online play.

 

[Father_Brain]

I watched the video on the Nintendo Channel. I will not be making a purchase.

IGN's impressions a couple months back weren't exactly glowing; they said that the physics were terrible and that the vehicles have no sense of weight, which is critical in a game like this.

 

[Somnid]

Some IGN user who bought it warns to stay the hell away from SPOGS.

 

[Fantastical]

IGN's impressions a couple months back weren't exactly glowing; they said that the physics were terrible and that the vehicles have no sense of weight, which is critical in a game like this.

And if a preview is critical, then the review will be terrible.

 

[gutshot]

And if a preview is critical, then the review will be terrible.

Yup.

2.0 Presentation
So, it's kinda, but not officially, based on Pogs? Why? What the heck does that have to do with a boring racer?
1.0 Graphics
You're kidding, right? SEGA's Virtua Racing looked better than this back in 1992. SPOGS wins the title of "Ugliest Wii Game." Congratulations.
3.0 Sound
Terrible, over-compressed guitar cheese. Item sound effects are dinky.
2.0 Gameplay
The Crash N' Grab system is interesting, but it's underutilized. Everything else here is either mind-numbingly dull (racing) or infuriating (rubber-banding AI).
2.0 Lasting Appeal
A limited two-player mode can't save this abomination. Remember this: any amount of time you spend with SPOGS Racing is time you will never get back.
1.9
Abysmal OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

 

[agrajag]

I gave in and bought it and am enjoying it so far although I wish that they had included some basic shoot-em up levels. I know the energy collection and grappling mechanic is the hook (lame pun intended) of the game, but sometimes I just want to shoot stuff without worrying about blasting energy back through the gate.

I actually wish, since this is a shmup with a racing feel to it, that they would put more focus on speed. The speed increases in the game come through the gates you pass through. But suppose if they had a time-based point system? You'd get rewarded for completing the levels faster. Instead of gates, you'd have certain powerups that let you go faster, and you slow down when you take a hit. I'd scrap the damage meter and the power bar altogether in favor of this time-trial mechanic. I'd play a game like that.

 

[Fantastical]

Yup.

:lol I'm guessing they'll talk about this in the Voice Chat podcast. That's really terrible. I remember thinking that this had a lot of potential when they sent out the initial press release...
Still waiting for Strong Bad's game.

 

[SickBoy]

Is it time to rename this thread to "Bundles of Pretty Good" or "Bundles of the Honeymoon Is Over"?

I've been waiting on Wiiware titles because I want to blow my Wii points in one fell swoop and I keep waiting for something to come out and really blow me away that isn't Lost Winds. Hasn't happened yet. Some decent looking stuff has come out, yes, but nothing has made me go "ooooh" recently.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Is it time to rename this thread to "Bundles of Pretty Good" or "Bundles of the Honeymoon Is Over"?

I've been waiting on Wiiware titles because I want to blow my Wii points in one fell swoop and I keep waiting for something to come out and really blow me away that isn't Lost Winds. Hasn't happened yet. Some decent looking stuff has come out, yes, but nothing has made me go "ooooh" recently.

Buy Toki Tori™.

 

[Jiggy]

Is it time to rename this thread to "Bundles of Pretty Good" or "Bundles of the Honeymoon Is Over"?

This isn't Virtual Console; they don't have a library of hundreds of awesome titles that they could be releasing but aren't. The good stuff is coming with time: Mega Man 9, Bomberman, Alien Crush, World of Goo, Shantae... I'm not worried about WiiWare.

And, yes. Buy Toki Tori.

 

[straydog1980]

Buy Toki Tori™.

this! The game is fun, and genuinely challenging!

 

[borghe]

yes folks, it's is EXACTLY GAMES LIKE SPOGS that we are only getting one VC game a week.. why you ask? Because if we actually had 2-3 decent VC games to choose from NOBODY would be stupid enough to buy SPOGS. But this way people who don't want the lone VC title but have Nintendo points burning a hole in their virtual pocket might be a bit more duped into buying this POS.

Fock NOA and their "we can sell any old crap on WiiWare" mindset. Fuck them hard.

 

[jj984jj]

^The Unawesome VC thread is that way. ---->

 

[borghe]

^The Unawesome VC thread is that way. ---->

no, I know... I was just more referring to SPOGS and crap like it being the reason VC is sucking so bad... fairly relevant for this thread simply because the end result is WW sucking as well on weeks like this, all so Nintendo can push software that would otherwise go nowhere. Fortunately WW is still having quality releases come out for it, but I fully expect to see many more weeks with a horrible utter shit WW release and one single mediocre VC release in hopes of driving more impulse purchases of the WW title.

I'm done now.

 

[Wizpig]

How do you visit Friends' ranches in Pokémon Ranch? =(

 

[chubigans]

So I'm very new to the whole Wii scene and was wondering...anyone here at GAF a Wiiware dev?

 

[cws]

Some IGN user who bought it warns to stay the hell away from SPOGS.

Damn...i wonder if devs could release that kind of trash on xbla or psn ?

 

[Fantastical]

Buy Toki Tori™.

This. This. This.

Seriously, It's such an enjoyable game. My favorite WiiWare game (I only have Lost Winds and Toki Tori, but still, it's better than Lost Winds IMO).

I, for one, am waiting for World of Goo and Strong Bad's game. Can't wait for those titles.

 

[mclem]

Damn...i wonder if devs could release that kind of trash on xbla or psn ?

Yaris?

 

[cws]

Yaris?

i guess this is a crappy xbla arcade game ? right ?

still, i wonder how many wii ware games they still have in their pipeline... which games we can look forward to for the upcoming weeks ? Strong Bads Game and ?

 

[Slacker]

i guess this is a crappy xbla arcade game ? right ?

still, i wonder how many wii ware games they still have in their pipeline... which games we can look forward to for the upcoming weeks ? Strong Bads Game and ?

I'm saving my Wii points for Tetris.

 

[Sagitario]

So, besides Toki Tori and LostWinds, is there any other must-own title [I don't really care for FF or Dr. Mario]? I got 5400 Wii points...

 

[Threi]

So, besides Toki Tori and LostWinds, is there any other must-own title [I don't really care for FF or Dr. Mario]? I got 5400 Wii points...

Gift me Sin and Punishment and i will gift you something for 1000 points.

(Meaning: "spare me 200 points plz?")

 

[cws]

I'm saving my Wii points for Tetris.

ah forgot about those hudson games, i hope they release bomberman soon, it looks awesome

 

[Fantastical]

ah forgot about those hudson games, i hope they release bomberman soon, it looks awesome

I think it's scheduled for Fall in Japan.

 

[BooJoh]

How do you visit Friends' ranches in Pokémon Ranch? =(

It's a random occurence. When you turn the game on, you might randomly see a member of Club Look-See or one of your friends and they'll invite you to their ranch. It seems to happen every few days or so.

 

[Sagitario]

Gift me Sin and Punishment and i will gift you something for 1000 points.

(Meaning: "spare me 200 points plz?")

Actually, someone is going to gift them to me [5400 points exactly]...

This is what I'm planning on getting...

LostWinds 1000
Sin & Punishment 1200
Super Metroid 800
Super Castlevania IV 800
A Link to the Past 800 <--- not so sure about that
---------------------------------
Total: 4600

So, only 800 for Toki Tori... would you spare me 200 points?

I can get another SNES/Genesis/TG game with those 800... but I haven't decided which game yet...

 

[Roarer]

So, besides Toki Tori and LostWinds, is there any other must-own title [I don't really care for FF or Dr. Mario]? I got 5400 Wii points...

Knowing that you don't care for Dr. Mario, I still feel compelled to recommend it. It's just SOOO good. If you ever game with a friend and like both co-op and competitive play, you need to give this a go. I swear, you will thank me later.

Four player co-op on Dr. Mario is the best thing ever.

 

[Wizpig]

It's a random occurence. When you turn the game on, you might randomly see a member of Club Look-See or one of your friends and they'll invite you to their ranch. It seems to happen every few days or so.

=( Random?!
Oh well, thanks.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Hmm, I think I know what we're getting this week...


http://fairfaxtimes.com/news/2008/jun/11/school-coalitions-protest-beer-pong-video-game/

Even though Nintendo forced them to censor it and remove all alcohol references, breaking their "we won't censor your games" rules in what should be a very bad sign to gamers, this games' inevitable mediocrity (at best) aside?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=16287

(Has this been mentioned here yet?)

 

[DDayton]

Even though Nintendo forced them to censor it and remove all alcohol references, breaking their "we won't censor your games" rules in what should be a very bad sign to gamers, this games' inevitable mediocrity (at best) aside?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=16287

(Has this been mentioned here yet?)

To be perfectly fair, we don't know whether it was an issue of Nintendo saying "do this or we won't let it be sold" or of "this could have a lot of negative press, so why not change these few things" with a lot of side nudging.

I mean, yes, it says Nintendo asked them to change things, but censorship would be the forced removal/blockage/change... and, at the moment, we don't really know exactly what happened there.

(... and I don't think there was ever a "won't censor rule" as much as a "we reserve the right to refuse publication for a title, but we won't deny games based on basic gameplay concept")

 

[A Black Falcon]

To be perfectly fair, we don't know whether it was an issue of Nintendo saying "do this or we won't let it be sold" or of "this could have a lot of negative press, so why not change these few things" with a lot of side nudging.

I mean, yes, it says Nintendo asked them to change things, but censorship would be the forced removal/blockage/change... and, at the moment, we don't really know exactly what happened there.

(... and I don't think there was ever a "won't censor rule" as much as a "we reserve the right to refuse publication for a title, but we won't deny games based on basic gameplay concept")

It sure sounds like Nintendo says "Don't do it." to me, going by the article... why else would they have changed it? Getting that kind of press wouldn't be bad for the developers, really. It'd just sell more games.

And I thought that Nintendo had dropped its censorship requirements on third party publishers way back when the ESRB was founded. They continued self-censoring, and didn't allow AO titles, but... yeah, you're right, there were some content restrictions. But still, this is a new one, as far as I know, and we haven't heard of any other third party title getting censored by Nintendo in a long, long time... so why this time?

 

[Dragona Akehi]

I'm guessing since it's being "published" by Nintendo.

Oh and there's some pretty interesting things coming to Wiiware. Stuff you really will go "WTF" over, but in a good way. Seriously WTF.

 

[birdchili]

Oh and there's some pretty interesting things coming to Wiiware. Stuff you really will go "WTF" over, but in a good way. Seriously WTF.

nintendo described their wiiware stuff as "experimental", which, in spite of promise, we've seen relatively little of so far (lost winds and mlaak both quailfy, i suppose).

i'm ready.

 

[Father_Brain]

I'm guessing since it's being "published" by Nintendo.

Oh and there's some pretty interesting things coming to Wiiware. Stuff you really will go "WTF" over, but in a good way. Seriously WTF.

First or third-party? Or both?

 

[agrajag]

maybe that captain rainbow game is wiiware.

 

[DDayton]

I'm guessing since it's being "published" by Nintendo.

Oh and there's some pretty interesting things coming to Wiiware. Stuff you really will go "WTF" over, but in a good way. Seriously WTF.

(cackles over his giant pile of 50% off Wii Point cards)


That reminds me... I remember before the Wii launched, images of $10, $20, and $50 Wii Points cards. Were the $10 or $50 point cards ever actually sold anywhere? I can't recall ever seeing either one in the wild, and the only Wii Points cards I see these days are $20 ones.

 

[sfog]

I remember reading that Japan had (has?) a combo Classic controller/5,000 point card pack for around 5,000 yen back around the Wii's launch, although other countries have only received the 2,000 point cards.

 

[pakkit]

maybe that captain rainbow game is wiiware.

Graphics say no.

Did ANY gaffer play SPOGS?

 

[agrajag]

Graphics say no.

Did ANY gaffer play SPOGS?

What do you mean graphics say no? Are you suggesting that game's graphics are too good for WiiWare?:lol

 

[Fantastical]

I remember there being wii points at walmart for cheap. does that still exist?

 

[pakkit]

What do you mean graphics say no? Are you suggesting that game's graphics are too good for WiiWare?:lol

It's not any step up from Lost Winds, but Lost Winds was a three hour game with few backgrounds, whereas Captain Rainbow looks like it's a lengthy adventure with heavy cutscenes. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I think it's pretty unlikely that CR shows up on WiiWare.